Liuvigild, as king of the Visigoths, has…
586 CE
Liuvigild, as king of the Visigoths, has issued a revision of the century-old “Codex Euricianus,” intended for Goths alone.
An effective military leader, Liuvigild has consolidated Visigothic power in Spain, having reconquered from the Roman Empire all but the coastal strip of southern Spain.
Liuvigild had campaigned against the Romans in the south in the 570s and had taken back Córdoba after another revolt.
He also fought in the north against the Suebi and various small independent states, including the Basques and the Cantabrians.
He has pacified northern Spain, but has been unable to completely conquer these peoples.
When Liuvigild establishes his son Hermenegild as joint ruler in 480, a civil war ensues.
Hermenegild becomes the first Visigothic king to convert to Catholic Christianity due to his ties with the Romans, but he is defeated and sent into exile in 584.
By the end of his reign, Liuvigild has united the entire Iberian peninsula, including the Suebic Kingdom, which he had conquered in 585 during a Suebi civil war that had ensued after the death of King Miro.
Liuvigild has established amicable terms with the Franks through royal marriages, and they have remained at peace throughout most of his reign.
Liuvigild has also founded new cities, such as Reccopolis and Victoriacum (Vitoria), the first barbarian king to do so.
He dies at Toledo after an eighteen-year reign and is succeeded by his second son Reccared I.